Domestic Violence Program
SAFETY ALERT
Computer use can be tracked and monitored.
If you feel that you are in immediate danger, call 911 or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800.799.SAFE (7233) or 800.787.3224 (TTY).
The Domestic Violence Program provides technical assistance and specialized resources to strengthen courts’ and justice system partners’ responses to domestic violence, stalking and sexual assault. The Program disseminates information, monitors trends, offers education, and recommends forms, rules, and standards that promote effective response to these cases.
The information contained in this resource is a compilation of statutes and court decisions in the State of Ohio, and it is intended as a summary of the law to assist judges, lawyers, and the general public. The information does not represent binding statements of law by the Supreme Court of Ohio.
Advisory Committee on Domestic Violence
Domestic Violence Response: Beyond the Obvious Manuals
- Western Region (12/12/24)
- Northeast Region (12/13/24)
As part of the Supreme Court’s Rules Restructuring Project, the standard protection order forms have been renumbered effective July 1, 2026. The substantive content of these forms remains unchanged. During this transition period, courts, clerks, and other agencies should not reject filings that use the most recent prior version of the forms. Both the old and new form numbers are valid and acceptable while the transition is underway. Please refer to the accompanying chart for a crosswalk between the previous and updated form numbers.
Protection Orders: Statutes & Rules Reference Chart (April 2019)
Ohio Revised Code
- ORC 2903.211 – Menacing by Stalking
- ORC 2903.212 – Bail for Violation for Certain Protection Orders
- ORC 2903.213 – Motion for and Hearing on Certain Protection Orders
- ORC 2903.214 – Petition for Protection Order in Menacing by Stalking Cases
- ORC 2919.25 – Domestic Violence
- ORC 2919.251 – Bail in Certain Domestic Violence Cases
- ORC 2919.26 – Motion for and Hearing on Protection Order
- ORC 2919.27– Violating Protection Orders
- ORC 2919.271 – Evaluation of Mental Condition of Defendant
- ORC 2919.272 – Protection Order Issued by Court of Another State
- ORC 2935.03 – Authority to Arrest without Warrant – Pursuit outside Jurisdiction
- ORC 2935.032 – Written Policy and Procedure for Responding to Domestic Violence Incidents or Protection Order Violations
- ORC 2943.033 – Court to Advise Defendant for Possible Firearm Restrictions
- ORC 2945.392 – Expert Testimony of the Battered Woman Syndrome
- ORC 3109.04 – Allocating Parental Rights and Responsibilities for Care of Children; Shared Parenting
- ORC 3109.051 – Parenting & Time - Companionship or Visitation Rights
- ORC 3113.31 – Domestic Violence Definitions
- ORC 3113.32 – Domestic Dispute and Violence Problems Records
- ORC 2151.34 – Protection order against a minor
- ORC 2151.358 – Expungement of sealed records
- ORC 3109.52 – Mediation of differences as to allocating parental rights and responsibilities
Rules
- Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 65.1 - Civil Protection Order
- Rules of Superintendence Rule 10 – Notifying Law Enforcement Agencies of Criminal or Civil Protection Orders
- Rules of Superintendence Rule 10.01 – Standard Civil Protection Order Forms - Domestic Relations Division
- Rules of Superintendence Rule 10.02 – Standard Criminal Temporary Protection Order Forms
- Rules of Superintendence Rule 10.03 – Standard Criminal and Civil Stalking Protection Order Forms
- Rules of Superintendence Rule 10.04 - Notice Concerning Possession or Purchase of Firearms
- Rules of Superintendence Rule 10.05 - Standard Civil Protection Order Forms in Juvenile Division of the Courts of Common Pleas
- Rules of Superintendence Rule 10.06 - Inter-Court Communication in Domestic Violence and Related Cases
- Rules of Superintendence Rule 16 - Mediation
- Rules of Superintendence Rule 48 - Guardians ad litem
Relevant Cases
Court's Ban on Future Social Media Postings about Relatives Unconstitutional
The Ohio Supreme Court vacated portions of Mercer County civil stalking protection orders that prohibited a man from posting anything on social media about his mother and sister, whom he accused of contributing to the deaths of their husbands.
Board of Professional Conduct Advisory Opinion 96-005 (Advice provided under the former Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct, which was superseded by the Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct, eff. 3/1/2009)
- Criminal Domestic Violence Courts: Key Principles
- Performance Measures for Specialized Domestic Violence Courts
- Fact Sheet: Substance Abuse and Domestic Violence
- Fact Sheet: Domestic Violence Court Compliance Monitoring
- What Makes a Domestic Violence Court Work?
- Creating a Domestic Violence Court: Adapting the Model to Your Community
- Fact Sheet: Collaborating with Victim Service Agencies
- Supreme Court of Ohio Specialized Dockets Section
- Groupwork with Men Who Batter: What the Research Literature Indicates
- Parenting Interventions for Men Who Batter
- Court Checklist for Batterer Intervention Programs in Ohio Model Protocol for Responding to Domestic Violence
- Court Responses to Batterer Program Noncompliance
- Do Batterer Program Length or Approach Affect Completion or Re-Arrest Rates?
- Testing the Effectiveness of Batterer Programs and Judicial Monitoring
- Do Batterer Intervention Programs Work—Two Studies
- Batterer Intervention Programs: Where Do We Go From Here?
- Preventing and Responding to Domestic & Sexual Violence in Later Life
- National Council for Aging Care
- National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse
- Domestic Violence in Later Life
- Domestic Violence in Later Life: A Guide to the Aging Network for Domestic Violence and Victim Service Programs
- National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life
These materials represent a partial list of resources currently available when weighing risk factors and making lethality assessments. These resources could be used as a starting point for any analysis on this topic.
- Stalking in Ohio, 2016-2023
- Assessing Risk Factors for Intimate Partner Homicide
- Murder-Suicide in Families
- Practical Implications of Current Domestic Violence Research: For Law Enforcement, Prosecutors and Judges
- Intimate Partner Violence Risk Assessment Validation Study, Final Report
- How Can Practitioners Help an Abused Woman Lower Her Risk of Death?
- Do Domestic Violence Services Save Lives?
- Domestic Violence & Firearms Prohibition
- 8 Things Every Judge Should Know About Teen Dating Violence
- Love is Respect – National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline
- Break the Cycle
- That's Not Cool –Teen Dating Violence Prevention Campaign
- Teens Under Pressure: Exploring Dating Violence, Prostitution, and Human Trafficking
- Dating Violence and Abuse
Emily F. Rothman, ScD - Human Trafficking in the United States
Officer Ken Lawson - Child Sex Trafficking in the Midwest
Celia Williamson, PhD - The Realities of Teen Victims of Human Trafficking
Theresa Flores, LSW, MSE
- Dating Violence and Abuse
- Understanding Domestic Violence Firearms Prohibitions (2025)
- Human Trafficking Bench Card (January 2018)
- Assessing Allegations of Domestic Violence in Child Abuse Cases (November 2016)
- Domestic Violence & Allocation of Parental Rights and Responsibilities Court Guide (May 2016)
- Non-Fatal Strangulation/Suffocation: Four Common Myths (2025)
- Non-Fatal Strangulation/Suffocation: What Every Judge Should Know (2025)
- Protection Orders Overview Card (July 2018)
- Protection Orders: Statutes & Rules Reference Chart (April 2019)
- Domestic Relations Resource Guide - Protection Order Chapter (April 2014)
- Domestic Violence in Later Life (October 2009)
- Increasing Safety for Victims; Increasing Accountability of Offenders (October 1996)
- Increasing Victim Safety, Holding Offenders Accountable Executive Summary (October 1996)
- Action Ohio for Battered Women
- American Bar Association Commission on Domestic Violence
- American Judges Association: Effective Adjudication of Domestic Abuse Cases
- Full Faith and Credit: A Passport to Safety A Judge's Guide
(Reprinted with permission from the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges) - Futures Without Violence
- National Center for State Courts
- National Coalition Against Domestic Violence
- National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges
- Ohio Attorney General
- Ohio Domestic Violence Network
- Ohio Domestic Violence Resource Center
- Ohio Department of Public Safety, Family Violence Prevention Center
- US Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women
- The Center for Court Innovation
Contact Information
Supreme Court of Ohio
65 South Front Street, 6th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215-3431